Dong Yen may well be one of the most ‘natural’ places you’ll visit in Thailand. The village is known for its rich supply of greenery, including flowers, plants and the famous Chom Chan blossoms – herbs that can help you lose weight.

Amongst all the vegetation you’ll also find salad flowers, passion fruits, watercress, sunflower saplings, morning glory shoots, long eggplant, round eggplant, fragrant Prik Ki Noo chili peppers, papayas, green onions, Chinese kale, Bhutanese mushrooms, Jew’s ears, Japanese truffles, onions, longevity spinach, centella leaves, lettuce, angled gourd, mulberry leaves, bamboo grass and Thai bamboo.

The people of Dong Yen make it central to their own ways of life to grow vegetables for personal use. What’s important is that these vegetables are grown organically, without the use of chemicals (however, they do make their own natural fertilizer.

From what used to be a small activity involving the whole family, they started to expand and eventually began selling their produce. What was once only a small stand evolved into a learning center for organic farming and now the community members are able to share their knowledge and techniques with anyone who’s interested.

This might really be the ideal way of life so many people are looking for, and it’s right here – in Dong Yen, naturally.